BHK
by Mitsukaii
Summary: It's beautiful outside, dead guy.


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_b h k  
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"The human spirit cannot be paralyzed. If you are breathing, you can dream."  
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Summer: the time for lemonades and iced teas and going out for ice creams. Summer: the time for watching the sun descend with your closest friends and showing the rest of the world what "chillaxing" really meant. Summer: the time to hit the beach and work on that uneven tan of yours. Summer: the time to shake off all the stresses of the past school year, the time to forget about the D- you received in Chemistry since your teacher was a big-stupid-fathead-pedophile that taught the class absolutely _nothing_ because he was too busy pedophile-ing teens online, only caring to show his students a great number of 'Bill Nye the Science Guy' videos.

Kairi couldn't repeat her last thought five times fast even if she wanted to.

And while listing those wonderfully wonderful summery summer thoughts in her mind, she was reluctantly readying for something that apparently _didn't_ qualify for that certain summer vacation list of hers. A funeral. A funeral—a death of a person she hadn't even known. So why was she going, anyway? Simple: the dead boy was a family friend, the son of her mother's old colleague. Whatever the circumstances, Kairi believed that she had _much_ better things to do.

Plus, she hated wearing the color black. On a warm summer day, no less!

It wasn't fair; she was still looking for the right guy to lose her virginity to before junior year started.

"Kairi, _come on down_!"

The redhead was vaguely surprised at how her mother's voice could spiral all the way upstairs into her bedroom. She sighed, looking at her exasperated reflection clad in ebony silk. "_You're next on The Price Is Right_," she grumbled in pure mockery, turning on her heel to clomp downstairs in her black leather boots, but not before slamming the bedroom door behind her.

Her decision was to sit at the very back of the church and wait for her mother to finish paying her respects to that one dead person and his family. It wasn't like she felt obligated to go up there herself and view the corpse. She'd never done anything like it, and frankly, she was afraid of any possible odor or any chances of getting diagnosed with… something-something-something.

"Let me guess," came a voice next to Kairi that creeped the bejeezus out of her, "you're going to sit here, on the very last pew, until your family finishes paying their respects and you get to leave."

Kairi blinked and her eyes widened before looking to her left and stuttering incoherently for a max of three seconds. A guy around her age that obviously hadn't been sitting next to her earlier was now there. She turned forward again and placed a hand on her chest, taking a deep breath to rid herself of that startled feeling. She peered at him out of the corner of her eye, catching glimpses of jagged blond hair and frosty blue eyes. He was dressed formally, just like her and everyone else around them.

"I don't blame you," the unknown adolescent continued, his voice low—as if he were sharing a secret with her. It seemed more logical to believe he was murmuring because this was a funeral. "Funerals aren't my favorite kind of thing, either, especially during summer."

"I guess you're in the same situation as me?" Kairi asked poignantly, trying not to sound _too_ bitter.

"Not exactly."

"Were you friends with this guy?" Kairi questioned, keeping her eyes on the half-open coffin placed in front of the altar. Some faint sobbing increased in volume, and Kairi couldn't help but wince a little.

"You could say that; we were really close."

"Well, I'm sorry for your loss."

"… No offense, but I hate it when people say sorry about death. I hate it when people apologize for someone else's death when they obviously weren't responsible for it. It wasn't their fault. It wasn't anyone else's fault that he forgot to breathe."

"He _died_ because he _forgot_ to _breathe_?"

The teen shook his head. "I'm not a doctor. It _does_ sound stupid. But it happens."

Kairi turned to face this stranger, contemplating on her reasons for speaking to him. Why did she bother continuing this conversation? Was it because he made sense? Or was it because he made her feel…

"He'd probably appreciate it, though. If you, y'know, go up there and tell him what an awesome summer day it is outside."

_He's dead, FYI,_ was what Kairi was about to say. But she looked at this blond guy and saw the serious sincerity in his eyes. She understood just a little at that time. She felt dumb for not asking this earlier, but made up for it by asking it now. "What's your name?"

"You can call me BHK."

"… BHK." Kairi lifted a brow, her next question not even sounding like a question. "Are you _serious_."

BHK only nodded his head toward the coffin and said, "I think he wants to know about the summer he could have enjoyed."

Kairi glanced at the coffin for a prolonged while, her heart beating fast. Why did she feel like this? Nervous? Anxious? What kind of emotion was she experiencing right now? Confusion? Why couldn't she place her perfectly manicured nail upon what seemed to be a naturally simple answer?

"I'm not sure I—" Kairi's head tilted in BHK's direction, but when she looked he wasn't sitting next to her anymore. _Just great…_

Two minutes later she was slowly walking towards the coffin, mumbling under her breath. "It's beautiful outside, dead guy. You probably would have loved it; I think you would've. I saw three tiger butterflies outside this morning. The biggest. I think you would have loved that, too. And… the beach is _packed_, from what I heard. I could've gone today. But your funeral's today, so I can't anymore. Don't worry—it's not your fault. It's not your fault—"

She suddenly found herself standing before the coffin. She swallowed hard and peered over the edge of the glossy chestnut and white silken confines. How could a corpse be so handsome, so beautiful? How could a corpse look so peaceful, so serene in death? How could a corpse… have been speaking to her only several minutes ago?

Her eyes welled with tears.

_BHK._

_"It's not your fault you forgot to breathe."_

_For Shirozora.  
_


End file.
